Competition in the low-cost smartphone market has intensified as Intex (in August) and Spice (in July) both partnered with Mozilla, maker of the Firefox Web browser, to launch what could possibly be the world's cheapest smartphone. The Intex Cloud FX, priced at Rs 1,999, which equals to $33 USD, and the Spice Firefox OS phone that goes for Rs2,299 (approx. $37 USD) in the Indian domestic market, targets first time smartphone buyers.
Intex Technologies, an Indian Mobile, IT and consumer electronics company, is the second partner company after Spice to launch a Firefox smartphone. The Intex Cloud FX comes equipped with all the key features of a smartphone: it has enhanced phone and browser features of Firefox OS, is equipped with the latest Web applications, a 3.5-inch screen powered by 1 GHz processor and expandable memory of up to 4GB, in addition to a 2.0 MP camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
What makes this dual-sim smartphone competitive is the fact that it is aimed at fulfilling the idea of, “smartphones for all” with high-quality and best value pricing according to Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Business Head of the Mobile vertical at Intex. “The company expects to sell 100,000 units of Intex Cloud FX within the next 21 days and about 500,000 in the next three months,” Intex's Kalirona said.
With Firefox OS smartphones emerging and Intex Technologies set to release another 3 handsets later this year (future devices will cost under Rs 6,000, about $99 USD), the market in the ultra-low-cost category will redefine the entry-level smartphone. The launch of Intex and Spice phones in India, which is in one of the fastest growing smartphones markets in the world, aims at competing with other Indian handset brands, such as Micromax, Karbonn and Lava, which have typically had an entry point of Rs 5,000 ($82 USD).
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi 
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